SAS Visual Analytics Reviews

Vendor: SAS

4.1 out of 5

40 reviews
96% willing to recommend

What is SAS Visual Analytics?

SAS Visual Analytics is a data visualization tool that is used for reporting, data exploration, and analytics. The solution enables users - even those without advanced analytical skills - to understand and examine patterns, trends, and relationships in data. SAS Visual Analytics makes it easy to create and share reports and dashboards that monitor business performance. By using the solution, users can handle, understand, and analyze their data in both past and present fields, as well as influence vital factors for future changes. SAS Visual Analytics is most suitable for larger companies with complex needs.

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SAS Visual Analytics is the #6 ranked solution in top Data Visualization solutions. PeerSpot users give SAS Visual Analytics an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. SAS Visual Analytics is most commonly compared to Tableau Enterprise: SAS Visual Analytics vs Tableau Enterprise. SAS Visual Analytics is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 66% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 20% of all views.

Helped 865,164 peers since 2012

Featured SAS Visual Analytics reviews

Danna Nemeth

Senior Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

The initial setup can be complex and depends on the specific environment and licensing. It typically requires some time and effort to configure properly. It can be deployed as a SaaS solution or on-premises. It typically requires an installer and someone knowledgeable in business analytics and data management. Generally, it does not require extensive maintenance, though occasional upkeep might be necessary.

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Renato Vazamin

Associate Director at B3

We had that solution installed previously in another solution, Selvaya, but I don't think we used it at the time. We are now using SAS Detect Investigation as a complementary solution, in which we have part of the process, use a gene, SAS collects information and identifies some business situations, and the business guys use Visual Analytics to explore the results of the process. We previously used the FICO platform, but we switched because FICO's pricing was not scalable. Bringing more data or workloads to the platform required a significant investment in order to scale. We needed to change because we have a lot of data to process every day. FICO was also a little more complicated than SAS Visual Analytics.

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AYANDA NKUNDLA

Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION

SAS Visual Analytics is helpful as it allows us to perform any queries we need. The ability to query information from our Excel data into SAS to view specific data is invaluable. In terms of reporting, it is easy to extract quick reports and provides graphical representations of the data, which is a great feature.

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SAS Visual Analytics mindshare

As of August 2025, the mindshare of SAS Visual Analytics in the Data Visualization category stands at 3.4%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Visualization

PeerResearch reports based on SAS Visual Analytics reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Data Visualization	Aug 18, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Aug 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	SAS Visual Analytics vs Tableau Enterprise	Aug 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	SAS Visual Analytics vs Apache Superset	Aug 18, 2025	Download
Comparison	SAS Visual Analytics vs Splunk Cloud Platform	Aug 18, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Tableau Enterprise	4.2	21.4%	89%	307 interviews Add to research
Qlik Sense	4.3	7.4%	96%	120 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

SAS Visual Analytics offers advanced data visualization, rapid data processing, and seamless report access. Users appreciate the intuitive dashboard creation, easy data exploration, and automated reporting features. It facilitates email notifications and advanced analytics including forecasting, geomaps, and statistical methods. The platform integrates diverse data sources efficiently and supports AI applications. It is noted for its ease of use, scalability, and ability to generate valuable insights quickly without requiring extensive technical skills.

"I would rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
"The visualization capabilities and the email functionality are most beneficial."
"It is a very stable solution."

Room for Improvement

SAS Visual Analytics requires enhancements in installation complexity, affordability, and data integration. Users report challenges with compatibility, user interface, and connectivity with modern data stores. Additional improvements are needed in machine learning capabilities, easier automation, and better visualization features. Serviceability and support services need enhancements; the cumbersome licensing model is also problematic. Greater integration flexibility with languages like Python and more robust forecasting and API features would elevate user satisfaction.

"In terms of configuration, I would like to see AI capabilities since many applications are now integrating AI."
"Some capabilities are missing compared to Power BI, especially when working with spreadsheet types."
"There are certain shortcomings in the tool's support services, making it an area where improvements are required."

ROI

Many data analysts experience customer retention and acquisition benefits through SAS Visual Analytics. Although some mention the cost of additional components like text mining, cost-effectiveness emerges as it reduces human resource requirements. Efficiency and analytics quality improvements are notable, but calculating returns remains challenging due to operational expenditures. After extended use, some notice potential advantages in reporting and cost savings, while others consider similar benefits from more affordable alternatives like Tableau or Zoho Analytics.

Pricing

SAS Visual Analytics is perceived as expensive by enterprise users, often requiring significant investment for licensing and additional costs for consulting services. Some find the initial costs manageable, but daily operational expenses and tech support fees add to the total expenditure. The complexity of the licensing model is noted, with additional fees for extra modules. While some rate its pricing positively due to capabilities, others seek more affordable alternatives. Most suggest evaluating data needs for optimal server sizing.

"I work with the tool's free version...The tool's corporate version is very expensive and requires a monthly hire."
"The product is quite expensive."
"The product is expensive."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations primarily use SAS Visual Analytics for building and visualizing interactive dashboards, monitoring statistics, analyzing data, and generating reports across various sectors such as education, government, healthcare, finance, and insurance. It handles ETL processes, data warehousing, anomaly detection, and scenario analytics. Users often employ it for enterprise reporting, data capture, and operations monitoring. Many entities operate on on-premises versions with plans to transition to cloud environments for enhanced BI and deployment versatility.

Service and Support

Many users report mixed feedback on SAS Visual Analytics customer service and support. The technical support received varied ratings, from satisfactory to exceptional, with users mentioning responsiveness and helpfulness. Some users experienced challenges due to outsourcing, particularly in India. Customer service received both high ratings for efficiency and timeliness, and lower ratings due to perceived ineffectiveness. While some users found support adequate, they noted a stronger focus on technology rather than business needs.

Deployment

SAS Visual Analytics' initial setup varies in complexity, often requiring technical expertise and proper documentation. Multiple users found the process challenging due to issues with guidance and installation on various environments, while others with IT backgrounds or third-party assistance experienced fewer difficulties. The setup's complexity can depend on factors like company size and server type, with some installations taking months and needing a dedicated team. Maintenance needs vary based on deployment specifics.

Scalability

SAS Visual Analytics is highly scalable, with no major scalability issues reported. It can accommodate large data sets and handle thousands to millions of rows effectively. While some organizations note concerns about hardware resources and cost, many find it well-suited for various company sizes, from independent businesses to larger enterprises. With functional scalability, it supports diverse teams of users, including consultants and management, across multiple industries and regions.

Stability

SAS Visual Analytics receives mixed feedback on stability. Some users encounter crashes, sluggish performance with large datasets, or issues due to deployment errors. However, many find it stable, reliable, and free from bugs or glitches, especially with correct deployment and proper hardware. Some rate its stability as high as 10 out of 10, indicating satisfaction with its stability for data analysis tasks.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our SAS Visual Analytics Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

10%

University

Insurance Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

Retailer

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Non Profit

Transportation Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Energy/Utilities Company

Performing Arts

Wholesaler/Distributor

Pharma/Biotech Company

Hospitality Company

Media Company

Consumer Goods Company

Outsourcing Company

Legal Firm

Compare SAS Visual Analytics with alternative products

Learn more about SAS Visual Analytics

SAS Visual Analytics Features

SAS Visual Analytics has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

Data
Interactive data discovery
Augmented analytics
Chat-enabled analytics
Sharing and collaboration
Visual analytics apps
Embedded insights
Location analytics
Security and administration
In-memory engine

SAS Visual Analytics Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing SAS Visual Analytics. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

Machine learning and natural language: SAS Visual Analytics uses machine learning and natural language explanations to find, visualize, and narrate stories and insights that are easy to understand and explain. This enables you to find out why something happened, examine all options, and uncover opportunities hidden deep in your data.

Easy and efficient reporting: With SAS Visual Analytics, you can create interactive reports and dashboards so you can quickly summarize key performance metrics and share them via the web and mobile devices.

Easy to use: SAS Visual Analytics was designed to be easy to use. Its easy-to-use predictive analytics enables even business analysts to assess possible outcomes, which also helps organizations make smarter, data-driven decisions.

Self-service data: Self-service data preparation gives users the ability to import their own data, join tables, create calculated columns, apply data quality functions, and more. In turn, the solution empowers users to access, combine, clean, and prepare their own data in an agile way, which helps facilitate faster, broader adoption of analytics for your entire organization.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by PeerSpot users currently using the SAS Visual Analytics solution.

A Senior Manager at a consultancy says, “The solution is very stable. The scalability is good. The usability is quite good. It's quite easy to learn and to progress with SAS from an end-user perspective.

PeerSpot user Robert H., Co-owner at Hecht und Heck GmbH, comments, “What I really love about the software is that I have never struggled in implementing it for complex business requirements. It is good for highly sophisticated and specialized statistics in the areas that some people tend to call artificial intelligence. It is used for everything that involves visual presentation and analysis of highly sophisticated statistics for forecasting and other purposes.

Andrea D., Chief Technical Officer at Value Partners, explains, “The best feature is that SAS is not a single BI tool. Rather, it is part of an ecosystem of tools, such as tools that help a user to develop artificial intelligence, algorithms, and so on. SAS is an ecosystem. It's an ecosystem of products. We've found the product to be stable and reliable. The scalability is good.”

SAS Visual Analytics was previously known as SAS BI.

SAS Visual Analytics customers

Staples, Ausgrid, Scotiabank, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Xcel Energy, and Triad Analytics Solutions.